Dwarves
Dwarves The dwarves were created by the gods during the War of the Gods, originally summoned as earth elementals and given flesh. At the war's end, they returned to the earth, but as mortals. They made their homes in the caves of Lodoss. While they could not use the shamanism that elves did, they became expert craftsmen. Dwarves live in their own underground kingdoms, though there is only one left, the Steel Kingdom, in Alania. The dwarven Kingdom of Stone was famous for it's artisans all across Lodoss, however, it was destroyed nearly sixty years ago when the Demon King was released in Skard. The surprise attack from the demon destroyed the dwarven city and wiped out nearly it's entire populace. Their king, Fleve, survived and became one of the Six Heroes who defeated the demon. His nation, however, was lost. It's ruins still stand, but there were far too few survivors to rebuild. Since the destruction of the Kingdom of Stone, the dwarven race was in decline. However, dwarves tend to have large families, so perhaps, in time, the heirs of the Kingdom of Stone will return to rebuild. Many larger cities across Lodoss have a few dwarves, usually working as blacksmiths or craftsmen. They have far longer lifespans than humans, but dwarves don't live as long as elves. The average dwarven lifespan is between 350 and 500 years. They come of age around twenty, though often don't marry until they've had a couple decades to figure out their life's goal. Dwarves are a people of great strength and stamina, which far surpass the average human. However, due to their height and stout builds, dwarves are not very agile. Their hearing is an improvement over human hearing, and their eyesight is more keen to detail. They have incredibly good night vision, which is combined with infravision; the ability to see heat. Dwarves prefer the dark, but their eyes can adjust easily to daylight. 'Physical Appearance' Dwarves are a short people, compared to humans and elves; males stand an an average of 4'5” (1.37m) and females are around 4'2” (1.28m). Dwarves are stout in build, and often wider than the average human, despite their short stature. They often have a bit of fat on them, but also have a thick musculature. Dwarven women are very voluptuous with wide hips, large breasts, and they are usually a little plump. Like most other races, dwarves have a defined point and length to their ears. The length of their ears is about 2-3 inches, and they are pointed upwards, not outwards like elven ears. Another distinguishing trait of dwarves are their beards. Not only do dwarven men proudly wear beards, but women do as well! Female beards are just as full as the male's, but their hair is often a little finer and more silken¹. To the human or elven eye, this can cause quite an unsettling confusion about a dwarf's gender. The coloration of dwarves is nearly as varied as humans. Most dwarves are of fair skin, which tans rather easily, despite their subterranean lifestyle. Dwarven hair comes in shades of black, brown, red, and blond. Their eye color includes most of the same colors as humans; blue, green, violet, brown, gold, and red. Hazel eyes do not occur in dwarves, though. Dwarves live long lives, but do not have the ageless appearance of elves. They age slowly, compared to humans, but they do age over several decades. Many dwarves go gray rather early on, before their hundredth year, while others keep their natural hair color until far later in life. 'Magic' Dwarves have no inherent magic powers and rarely study magic, as they prefer to work with their hands. Shamanism remains out of their reach, despite being created from elementals like the elves. They have no interest in sorcery, either. For the most part, dwarves refuse to use magic. However, a few dwarves chose to become priests, often gravitating toward Myrii. So, Holy magic is the only form of magic studied by dwarves, but it is still not common. Those dwarves that do leave to become clerics are often considered a little strange by their peers. 'Race Relations' *'Dwarves to Humans' Dwarves and humans get along quite well, and many dwarves live in human society. Their workmanship is highly valued by humans, though they might get into conflict with competing human craftsmen. Dwarves have a genial disposition, which makes their relations with humans even easier. However, due to vast differences in standards of beauty, there are practically no interracial relationships between humans and dwarves. *'Dwarves to Common and High Elves' There has been a long running feud between elves and dwarves, because dwarves were created from earth elementals, which are associated with darkness. However, this conflict leads to little more than petty name calling and prideful boasting. *'Dwarves to Dark Elves' Due to the evil reputation of dark elves, dwarves are not very trusting of them, the same as most races. While the conflict between dwarves and light elves is mostly all just show, dwarves are genuinely cautious of dark elves. *'Dwarves to Half-Elves' Depending on how much elven influence a half-elf has, dwarves may regard them as elves, or more as humans. Those who are raised among humans may find a good friend in a kindly dwarf who will lend a sympathetic ear. *'Dwarves to Grassrunners' Since grassrunners are foreign to Lodoss, many dwarves know little about them. They are both quite short, and find some common ground there. However, at first, a dwarf unfamiliar with grassrunners may confuse one with an elven child. *'Dwarves to Centaurs' Dwarves are mostly unfamiliar with centaurs and meeting one would be an exercise in curiosity. Dwarven Societies Kingdom of Stone Those that survived the destruction of this kingdom have been scattered to the winds. Many hold hopes of one day returning to their nation to rebuild, but in the meantime, they are living all across Lodoss, either in other dwarven societies, or among humans. As the kingdom's name suggests, stone masonry was the most common skill of this nation. New Kingdom of Stone Recently, King Fleve, one of the Six Heroes, and last king of the Kingdom of Stone, reappeared on Marmo after it was cleansed by Marfa. He has begun to set up a new dwarven kingdom there. The population there is small, but growing. Steel Kingdom This is the only dwarven nation that still lives. The Steel Kingdom is placed in northern Alania, in the White Dragon Mountains, near Tarba and Zaxon. These mountains are rich in steel, making mining and blacksmithing good career options. Raiden The eastern portion of the city is home to a dwarven district, and outside of the city is a dwarven run mining company that mines the eastern hills and mountains for gold and precious gems. Category:Basic lodoss Category:Races